


Anything for love

by Dahlia_Rose_83



Category: Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Ghosts, M/M, Vampires, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-23
Updated: 2014-03-23
Packaged: 2018-01-16 17:36:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1355989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dahlia_Rose_83/pseuds/Dahlia_Rose_83
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post Season 3: Alaric is dead, Elena is a Vampire and Damon wants to leave town. But before he leaves he visits his best friend´s grave. Upon drunkenly pouring his heart out, he comes up with a crazy plan. What is he up to? And what has Jeremy got to do with all this?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Speeches and suspicions

**Author's Note:**

> I don`t own Vampire Diaries. If I did, this would have happened on the Show. And I still don`t give up hope, that one day they`ll bring back Alaric for good.

It all started with Ric`s death, Damon mused, sitting in the Grill, nursing a glass of Bourbon. The barstool to his left was empty, would always be empty now. Ric should be sitting there, but Ric was gone and no-one would ever take his place. 

Yes, it all started with Ric`s death. The last one, that is. The final one, where he didn`t get back up again. Of course the real Alaric had already been gone for a quite a while, leaving only his evil alter ego behind. But still it was Ric and holding your best friend while he died was an experience Damon never wanted to repeat. 

He should`ve left after Alaric`s funeral. After all he didn`t get the girl. Elena had chosen Stefan, again. Not that he had expected anything different. Not that he had acutally hoped she would chose him. Not anymore. 

But then there had been the shit with the council and Elena`s turning into a vampire and so he had stayed. 

But now the council was gone. That problem had literally blown up. Elena adjusted to life as a vampire, albeit slowly, adopting Stefan`s disgusting bunny diet. The two of them seemed closer than ever. He really should leave like he`d planned. He had already been about to leave. If it weren`t for the little Gilbert`s speech he would be on the road by now, instead of sitting in the Grill, drinking by himself. 

*** Two hours earlier ***

Damon had just finished packing his bag, when Jeremy showed up at the Boarding house, looking for his sister. She practically lived there at the moment, which did nothing to lighten Damon`s dark mood. "She`s not here." he grumbled. "She`s probably out with Stefan, killing innocent forest creatures." 

Jeremy ignored the jibe and instead looked at the bag on the vampire`s bed. "You`re going somewhere?" he asked. Damon rolled his eyes. "How`d you notice?" "Where are you going?" the teenager asked. The vampire just shrugged, watching with amusement how Jeremy`s eyes went wide as he realized what was going on. 

"Wait, does this mean you`re leaving? For good?"  
"Yup." Damon was just about to grab his bag, when he noticed the look of dismay on the teens face. The little Gilbert couldn`t really be sad that he was leaving, could he? 

"Why?" he asked softly, taking Damon by surprise. His first instinct was to shoot back "Why not?", but the look on Jeremy`s face made him reconsider. "Stefan and I kinda made a deal. As Elena`s chosen one he gets to stay, while I leave. Since the council is no longer a problem there`s nothing keeping me here." he explained sincerely. 

"So the only thing keeping you here was Elena? What about the rest of us?" Jeremy wanted to know. "The rest of you hate me." Damon shot back, making the boy wince. "We don`t hate you. Not really." he protested. "Okay, Bonnie and Caroline don`t exactly like you, but..." "But what? But that`s to be expected? But I`ve given them reason to hate me?" Damon asked, the anger in his voice clear. "That`s not what I meant. Although you have given them reason. It`s just... it`s complicated."

The vampire stared at Jeremy in annoyance. "Well, either you explain what the hell you`re trying to tell me or I`ll leave." he threatened. Jeremy sighed. "The last couple of years have been tough on all of us." he started. "We lost so many people we cared about: Our parents, Jenna, John, Vicky, Anna, Alaric..." his breath hitched and Damon feared he would start crying. He couldn`t deal with a crying kid. He didn`t do comforting. 

Luckily the boy only took a deep breath, before continuing: "Tyler`s dad and his uncle, Caroline`s dad, Bonnie`s grams... We`ve all lost someone. That and all the other stuff that`s been happening brought us closer together. We`ve become some sort of weird family. And you`re a part of that, whether you like it or not. You`re one of us and we need you, even if we don`t like to admit it. You can`t just leave." 

Damon just stared at the teen, trying to swallow past the sudden lump in his throat. He had no idea what to say. "Just... don`t leave yet, okay? At least think about it." Jeremy asked, looking at him pleadingly. 

"Fine, I`ll think about your little speech." Damon conceded. "Now why don`t you go search for your sister or whatever?" At the mention of Elena Jeremy sighed. "She`s avoiding me. I think she`s afraid she`ll hurt me or something like that." he mumbled. "She`ll get over it." Damon said, making a shooing motion. 

Jeremy finally took the hint and left, although Damon had the suspicion that he wasn`t going far. He probably wanted to make sure the vampire didn`t sneak off after all. For a second he was tempted to do just that. 

He didn`t know why instead he left his bag on the bed and ended up at the Grill a few minutes later.

*** 

And here he was still, drinking all by himself, musing over little Gilbert`s words. Until the arrival of Sheriff Forbes startled him out of his thoughts. When she tried to pull out Alaric`s barstool he reacted automatically. "That seat's taken." She gave him a look, but moved to his other side nonetheless, throwing down a newspaper in front of him as she did so. Damon picked it up without interest, looking at the headline. "‘Faulty gas line leads to tragic explosion at Young farm.' Really?" 

"Better than ‘Town Council blown up. Police have no suspects.' Unless the perpetrator is right next to me." Liz quipped, giving him another look. Damon took a swig of his drink, before answering: "Well, don't look at me. I always take credit for killing people." 

She didn`t seem to appreciate the joke and just continued staring at him. It grated on his nerves. "Seriously, stop looking at me like that, Liz. If I was going to kill twelve people, I wouldn't blow them up, I'd have a dinner party." he snarked, putting his glass down. 

"The explosion was sparked from inside. This wasn't an accident." Liz let him know. Damon just shrugged. "You say that like it's a bad thing. The Council's dead, Liz. I see that as a win." The sheriff obviously didn`t share his point. "I've known some of the Council since I was a kid. They were my friends." 

"Well, your friends tried to kill your daughter." he reminded her, before their nice chat was interrupted by a stranger, wanting to speak to the sheriff in private. Damon ignored them, focusing on his drink, until he was again interrupted. This time by Elena. 

"Did you do it?" the brunette asked, trying to sit down on his left side, causing him to once again snap: "That seat's taken." Unlike Liz, Elena couldn`t leave it at that. Of course she couldn`t. "But there's no one here." And damn, being reminded of that hurt, but he wasn`t about to let her know. "Well, I'm just going to pretend like there's someone there, because the alternative is just too damn depressing." he ground out, slightly mad at himself for not thinking of a more witty, sarcastic comment. 

Elena just rolled her eyes and sat down on the other side of him. What neither of them knew was that the seat was indeed taken, by none other than Alaric Saltzman, who watched the scene with interest. "Did you set off the explosion that killed the Town Council?" Elena asked. 

"Am I wearing my "I Blew Up The Council" t-shirt, why does everybody keep asking me that?" Damon snapped, causing Alaric to chuckle. "That`s what you get for being the town badass, buddy." he muttered. "Although my first bet would`ve been on Klaus." 

"Did you?" Elena asked again. "No. Anything else?" Ric winced. Didn`t she notice that Damon was in a bad mood? Bombarding him with stupid questions was never a good idea, but when he was in a bad mood it could easily end with a broken neck for the one asking. 

She didn`t look like she believed the dark haired vampire. "Damn it Elena, stop bothering him." Alaric muttered. Of course no-one heard him. That was one of the things that sucked about being a ghost. You could scream all you wanted, no-one could see or hear you. 

Well, almost no-one, Ric corrected himself when the door opened and Jeremy walked into the Grill. His eyes widened as soon as they settled on his guardian and Ric quickly put a finger to his lips, shaking his head. He didn`t want the others to know that he was there. Jeremy gave an imperceptible nod and walked over to his sister. 

"Hey, I`ve been looking for you." She gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I was out with Stefan. He was teaching me ... stuff." She blushed, clearly uncomfortable with the topic. "Told you so." Damon muttered, but the siblings ignored him. "What did you need?" Elena asked instead, focusing on her brother. "The memorial is tomorrow. I just wanted to know if we`re going together or if you wanted to meet there." 

The brunette hesitated. "I guess we`ll meet there. I`ll probably be staying with Stefan tonight." she answered finally. "And I should really go now. So.. I`ll see you tomorrow, okay?" Jeremy forced a smile and nodded. "Okay." 

She left and he took her vacated seat. "See, she`s avoiding me." he told Damon, casting a quick glance at Ric, who again shook his head. Fine by him. He didn`t mind talking to ghosts, but he hated having to talk for ghosts. "And she`ll get over it." Damon said, clearly not in the mood to talk.

Jeremy was just about to open his mouth, when Ric stopped him. "Leave him be, Jeremy. I think he needs to be alone for a while." Sighing the boy complied and left the bar after a muttered: "See you." Alaric cast one last glance at Damon, before following him.


	2. Talking to ghosts

Jeremy walked back home slowly, deep in thought. Elena was the only family he had left and she avoided him like the plague. Of course he understood that she did it to protect him, that she was afraid of hurting him, but that didn`t make the feeling of being abandoned any less painful. He reached the house and walked into the living room, stopping dead in his tracks when he spotted the lone figure on the couch. 

"Shit, you scared me, Ric." The former teacher smiled slightly. "Sorry, I thought you would be used to sudden appearances by now." Jeremy snorted. "I`m not sure you can get used to that. Besides I wasn`t expecting you." 

He sat down on the couch as well, looking at his guardian. "What were you doing at the Grill?" Alaric shrugged. "What I do mostly these days - following Damon around." 

"You follow Damon?" Jeremy asked, truly surprised. "Mostly. Though I try to keep an eye on all of you. But I think Damon is the one who needs watching over the most." That didn`t make much sense, since Damon was quite capable of taking care of himself and there really wasn`t much Ric could do anyway, but still Jeremy understood what he meant. Damon was the most likely candidate to do something stupid. 

"He wants to leave." he informed Alaric. The ghost just nodded. "I know. I witnessed your talk earlier." he confessed, looking a little sheepish. "You... were there?" Jeremy sputtered. "But... I didn`t see you." He couldn`t believe that Alaric had spied on him and heard everything he said to Damon. 

"I didn`t want you to see me. I didn`t want to interfere. But I heard what you said and I`m glad you did that. Damon needed to hear these things." Jeremy shrugged. "If you say so." he mumbled, feeling self-conscious. "I know he can be an idiot at times, but deep down he`s a good guy. He`s taking care of all of you. He stayed when the council went crazy, he made sure Elena would be okay, before packing his bags. And he only wants to leave because he feels unwanted. You heard what he said. He thinks you hate him." Alaric explained. 

Jeremy let his words sink in. "Do you think he`ll stay?" he asked eventually. "I don`t know. He`s unpredictable. Even I can`t tell for sure what he`ll do and I know him better than most." the former teacher answered truthfully. "I never understood why you were friends with him." Jeremy muttered.

"No-one understood our friendship. Sometimes even I didn`t." Ric admitted, smiling wryly. "At first I hated him. And let`s not forget that he killed me twice. But we reached some sort of understanding over time. As I said, he`s a good guy deep down. And I realized that we have a lot in common. It just takes time to get to know him. He`s very guarded and doesn`t let people get close to him easily. But once he opens up to you..." He shrugged, looking like he already said too much. 

"You`re not telling me the two of you had big heart-to-hearts?" Jeremy said, only half joking. Ric laughed. "Not really. Well, maybe after a few bottles of bourbon. Damon get`s rather talkative when he`s hammered." He smiled, obviously remembering something, but quickly turned serious again. "He only started really opening up to me after I died." 

Jeremy looked at him quizzically, not understanding what he meant by that. "He comes to the graveyard sometimes. Talks to my grave. I`m sure he doesn`t believe I`m actually listening. He probably wouldn`t do it if he knew I was." Alaric explained. He looked pained and Jeremy could only imagine how hard it must be for him to listen to his friend pour his heart out and not be able to talk to him. "Do you want me to... talk to him for you?" he offered, even though he hated doing that. 

Ric smiled sadly. "No. I don`t think that would do much good. But if he stays, maybe you`ll give him a chance?" Jeremy nodded, knowing that their talk was coming to an end. 

"And don`t be mad at Elena. It`s all a bit much for her right now. Just give her some time." Ric advised. "Okay." With a last smile the ghost vanished, leaving Jeremy alone to think about what he`d said. 

*** 

Alaric found Damon at his grave, where he sat on a stone bench, the usual bottle of bourbon in hand, though yet unopened. 

"So, little Gilbert wants me to stay." Damon mumbled. "Says they need me. That I`m part of the family." He snorted. "Part of the family. Really? What do they need me for? Doing the dirty work, so they can glare at me for doing it?" He stared at the gravestone, lips set in a frown. "I know what you`ll say: They`re just a bunch of kids, Damon. They need you to take care of them." 

Alaric chuckled, answering even though the vampire couldn`t hear him. "Yes, Damon. That`s exactly what I`d say." The dark haired vampire continued, obvious to his friend standing right next to him. "But I can`t do this. I`m not good at taking care of others, at having long talks. I don`t know how to look after them, how to make sure they all manage to graduate and whatever. Maybe I can keep them all alive until they graduate. But the rest.. that was supposed to be your job, Ric." 

He stared at the bottle, seemingly contemplating whether he should open it or not. Deciding against it he put it on the grave. "Remember that night, not long after Jenna had died, when you said you didn`t know how to be a guardian? You asked me of all people what you should do." 

"And you told me to go by heart." Alaric murmured, remembering that night all too well. He had been devastated about Jenna`s death and more than a little freaked out that she had wanted him to become Elena`s and Jeremy`s guardian. Not knowing what to do he had ended up at the boarding house and they`d had one of those drunken heart-to-hearts he told Jeremy about. 

"I know I never told you, but you did a damn good job, buddy." Damon continued. "Well, at least until you went crazy and tried to kill us all, but I guess that wasn`t really your fault." Alaric smiled at the rare compliment, while he watched Damon get up and start pacing in front of his grave. 

"I`ve got no idea how you did it. Or how the hell I should do it. I can`t take care of them. That`s your job." the vampire raved and Alaric wondered if he was seeing things or if those cerulean eyes were really glistening with unshed tears. Damon flopped down onto the ground in front of the grave, staring into space for what seemed like hours. 

"They`re all fucked up, now." he finally muttered, his eyes still unfocused. "Elena`s a vampire. Not my fault, though. Stefan could`ve prevented that, but he had to save the quarterback. .. And witchy lost her powers." He snorted. "Not that she was much of a help when she still had them. Stupid witch." "She´s just a kid, Damon. She did her best." Alaric protested. "You would probably tell me now that she did her best." Damon kept on rambling, making Ric smile at how well he knew him. 

"And it`s my fault her best wasn`t enough, since it`s my fault her stupid granny died, before she could educate her properly." Ric frowned, wondering where that came from. Damon kept on mumbling to himself about stupid witches and their grandmothers and the former teacher wondered just how drunk he was. 

Then all of a sudden Damon jumped up and Alaric recognized the look on his face all too well. "What are you planning now?" he wondered. Damon took one last look at the grave, before leaving. Alaric followed him, cursing his inability to talk to anyone but Jeremy. Being a ghost really sucked sometimes. 

He could only watch as Damon returned to the boarding house, casting a quick glance towards Stefan`s room, from where he could hear Stefan and Elena talking quietly. He snuck into his room, grabbed his bag and left without looking back. "What the hell are you doing?" Ric murmured, surprised when he noticed that Damon wasn`t driving out of town, but rather toward the Gilbert house. 

*** 

Jeremy stumbled barefoot down the stairs, frowning at the loud banging on the front door that had woken him from slumber. He opened the door and came face to face with an impatient Damon Salvatore. Alaric was standing a few steps behind him. He shrugged when he caught Jeremy`s questioning look. 

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Jeremy grumbled, while Damon pushed him aside, walking into the living room. "Not really." The teen rolled his eyes and followed him. "What do you want?" Damon looked him up and down, trademark smirk firmly in place. "Nice outfit." 

"I was sleeping. But I`m sure you knew that. So is there any particular reason why you`ve woken me or are you just here to talk about my pajamas?" Damon grinned, clearly amused by the youth irritation. "Get dressed and pack a few things. We`re going on a road trip." he declared. 

Jeremy just blinked at him. "Huh?" Now it was Damon`s turn to roll his eyes. "A road trip. You know, that means you and me, driving somewhere.... So get dressed and pack a few things. Not much, though. Shouldn`t take all that long." he explained. Jeremy just continued to stare at him. Who the hell did the vampire think he was, showing up in the middle of the night to boss him around. 

"What makes you think I would go on a road trip with you?" he asked. "Well, your little speech this afternoon, of course. We`re all family, remember?" Damon`s smirk was back, which did nothing to lessen Jeremy`s annoyance. He caught Alaric`s pleading look and sighed. After all he had promised Ric to give the dark haired vampire a chance. 

"Come on, Jer. It`s going to be fun. And Elena has time to get her urges under control. It`s a win-win." Damon argued. "Fine. But I want to know where we`re going. And I have to tell Elena." the teen relented. "Indiana. And just leave her a note. Otherwise we`ll never get going." 

Jeremy wanted to protest, but he had to admit that Damon was right. Elena wouldn`t just let them leave. "I`ll wait outside." the vampire announced. 

Jeremy went back upstairs, threw on a pair of jeans and a shirt and quickly packed a few clothes and other necessities. This time he wasn`t really surprised when Alaric followed him. "Do you have any idea what he`s planning?" he asked his guardian. "No. He was at the graveyard, talking about all of you and then suddenly he went home to grab his bag and then came here. But I`m glad you`re going with him." Ric told the teen. 

"Elena will think otherwise." Jeremy muttered. He wrote a quick note to his sister and sent a text to Matt, stating that he wouldn`t be able to pick him up tomorrow and that he`d leave a letter for Elena on the kitchen table. 

Damon was waiting in the car when he finally left the house. Jeremy put his bag in the trunk and got into the passenger seat. He wasn`t really surprised to find Alaric sitting in the back seat. 

"So, what are we doing in Indiana?" the teen asked as Damon drove off. "Visiting an old acquaintance." the vampire answered. "What kind of acquaintance?" 

"A witch I knew a while back. Not too sure she`s still among the living so I thought I`d take you with me. Just in case." Jeremy blinked, surprised by this answer, though he probably shouldn`t be. "And why are we visiting her?" he finally asked. 

"Umm.. to say hi?" Damon said, causing the teen to roll his eyes. "You don`t actually expect me to believe that, do you?" 

"Why not? It`s the truth." the vampire claimed. "You`re telling me you kidnapped me in the middle of the night just to say hi to a witch you`ve known a while ago, who lives in Indiana and might be dead by now?" 

"I didn`t kidnap you." Damon protested. "You`re accompanying me on your own free will. I only asked nicely." Jeremy snorted. "You didn`t ask. You ordered me to pack and come with you." he reminded the vampire. "And you could have said no." 

The teen sighed, giving up. "Okay fine, you didn`t kidnap me. But you also didn`t answer my question. What are we really doing in Indiana?" 

"Visiting an old acquaintance." Damon repeated. "Why? And don`t tell me you just want to say hi. I don`t believe that." Jeremy ground out, beyond annoyed. How had Ric put up with that? They had been on the road for about 20 minutes now and he already wanted to throttle the vampire. 

Damon smirked when he noticed how annoyed the teen was. This might be more fun than he`d anticipated. "Okay, maybe there`s something I want to ask her." he relented. "And what would that be?" 

"Stop being so nosy. You`ll see when we get there. Now shut up." Jeremy was about to protest, when suddenly Alaric spoke up from the backseat: "Let it go, Jeremy. You`re lucky he told you that much." 

"But..." Jeremy started, but was quickly silenced by a dark look from Damon and a "Stop it." from Alaric. "I know how he ticks. The more you ask, the less he will tell you. And if you annoy him too much he might break your neck, just to shut you up. Believe me, I know what I`m talking about." the former teacher said. 

The teen sighed and mumbled: "Fine. Don`t tell me then." under his breath, before sinking down further in the seat. Tired he put his head against the window and closed his eyes, letting the low rumble of the engine lull him to sleep. He didn`t notice Damon watching him out of the corner of his eyes, a thoughtful smile playing about his lips.


	3. Bonding

Jeremy was awoken a few hours later by the persistent ringing of his cell phone. Blearily he opened his eyes, feeling a little disoriented. It took him a few moments to remember where he was. They were still driving, the scenery flying by. Obviously Damon didn`t care about speed limits. 

The teen sat up a little straighter and answered the phone, instantly regretting it, when he was greeted by Elena`s shrill voice. "Jeremy, where the hell are you?" 

"Ugh.. somewhere on the road. I left you a note." he mumbled. "I know. I`ve just read it. What the hell were you thinking? You can`t just disappear like that. And with Damon of all people!" Elena shouted furious. 

Jeremy, by now more awake, cast a glance at the vampire in question, who only raised his eyebrows and shrugged. Very helpful, the teen thought sourly. "Elena, calm down. We`ll be back in a few days. We`re only visiting an old friend of Damon." he explained, ignoring the chuckle next to him. Damon seemed to find the whole thing very amusing. 

"No you`re not! You`re coming back right now. The memorial is today. What will people think when you`re not there?" Elena demanded. "I don`t care what people think. And stop bossing me around." Jeremy shot back, getting angry. Why did his sister always have to try to make his decisions for him? 

"I`m only worried about you, Jer." she whispered, suddenly sounding close to tears and he instantly felt bad for snapping at her. "I know, but I`m a big boy, Elena. I can take care of myself." he assured her. "If someone asks just tell them I`m sick or something. I`ll be back in a few days. Until then you can practice to control your urges so you don`t have to be afraid of hurting me anymore, okay?" 

Elena sniffled. "No, not okay. I`m still worried. You`re off somewhere, alone with Damon." Jeremy rolled his eyes, glancing at Damon again, who seemed equally annoyed. "As I said, I can take care of myself. And I`m wearing my ring, so it`s not as if he could kill me permanently." 

His sister didn`t appreciate the joke. "Jeremy!" she shrieked, making him and Damon wince. Scowling the vampire grabbed the phone. "Oh stop it, Elena. I`ll take care of him. And I promise to bring him back in one piece." he grumbled, cutting the line without giving her the chance to reply.

He handed the phone back to Jeremy and it promptly started ringing again. Jeremy sighed and switched it off, earning himself a grin from Damon. "She`s treating me like a child. And it`s getting worse." he tried to explain himself. 

The vampire nodded. "She`s vampire now, which means that all her feelings are heightened. Everything is intensified. Her emotions are all over the place. She`s going to need some time to get used to it." 

"But she will get used to it, right? She won`t be like that all the time now?" Jeremy asked a little insecure. "She`ll manage. Stefan`s teaching her and I guess vampire barbie will help with that as well. Don`t worry." Damon assured him. Jeremy nodded, gazing out the window. 

"Anna could be very emotional as well. But it wasn`t that extreme." he remembered. "She was older. She had learned to control it better." Damon answered, clearly surprised that the teen would bring up his dead girlfriend. 

"Have you spoken to her lately?" he asked, regretting it when he saw the sad look on Jeremy`s face. "I haven`t seen her for months. Not since that chaos with the ghosts. She said she would give me up, so I could go on with my life. So I could forget about her." he whispered. "As if I ever could forget her." 

He sighed, looking at Damon apologetically. "Sorry, it`s just... I miss her. I try to hide it, but I can`t stop thinking about her. I had pushed the feeling aside, until I started seeing ghosts. And now it feels like I`m losing her all over again." he admitted, feeling slightly ashamed. Why was he telling Damon something so personal? He was sure the vampire would make fun of him now. 

But he didn`t. When Jeremy met his eyes he was shocked at the pain he saw there. "I know what it´s like to lose someone you love. How much it hurts." Damon whispered, surprising not only Jeremy, but Alaric, who was watching from the backseat as well. He would have never expected Damon to be so open with his emotions around Jeremy. He was acting out of character and it worried the former teacher. His friend hurt a lot more than he had thought. 

The moment didn`t last long, though. Quickly Damon returned his attention to the road ahead, feigning indifference. His mask was back on. 

"But that`s just how it is. Life kicks you in the balls and you deal with it." he mumbled. "Yeah." Jeremy agreed, not really knowing what to say. 

They drove in silence for a while, both lost in thought. Jeremy fiddled with the radio, glad to fill the uncomfortable silence with music. About an hour later they stopped at a gas station. While Damon refueled the car, Jeremy stretched his legs and went to the bathroom. When he returned the vampire was nowhere to be seen, so he leaned against the car and waited. 

About ten minutes later Damon finally appeared, two cups of coffee and a sandwich in hand. He handed Jeremy his coffee and the sandwich, motioning for him to get into the car. "Thanks." the teen muttered, tearing into the food. He hadn`t even realized how hungry he was. "Aren`t you hungry?" he asked the vampire, who shook his head. 

"I`ve already had breakfast." Jeremy followed his line of sight and spotted a young woman, who was just getting into her car. A bandage covered her wrist. The teen frowned, but didn`t comment on it. At least she was still alive. Damon was a vampire after all. He needed blood to survive and he could hardly pack a couple of blood bags for the trip. 

A few minutes later they were on the road again. Jeremy watched the scenery fly by, finally deciding to break the silence. "How much longer until we get there?" Damon raised an eyebrow at him. "You`re not going to start asking 'are we there yet' every five minutes now, are you?" he asked, eliciting a smile from Jeremy and a chuckle from Alaric. 

"I was thinking about it, but I guess that would only result in a broken neck for me." Jeremy answered truthfully, this time causing Damon to smile. "You`re smarter than you look, Gilbert." The teen just shook his head, not sure if that had been a compliment or an insult or maybe a bit of both. "So, how much longer?" Damon sighed. "I`m not sure. I guess we`ll be there before it gets dark." 

Jeremy nodded, secretly glad that they would be on the road for a while longer. He would never admit it out loud, but it was nice to get away from Mystic Falls and all its drama for a few days. "So, tell me more about this witch." he asked, tired of the heavy silence. "Not much to tell. She`s a witch." Damon muttered. 

"Come on. If you don`t want to tell me why we`re visiting her, fine. But you could at least tell me something more about her." Jeremy insisted. Sighing the vampire complied. "Her name is Celia. She owns a bookstore in Lafayette. And she has a twin brother, who`s a male witch of course. Although he insists on the term warlock." Damon explained, rolling his eyes. "How old are they?" 

"About 60 I guess, maybe 70. Not really sure." He shrugged, seemingly not caring about this detail. Jeremy asked a few more questions and Damon explained how he had met the twins at a club, hitting on Celia, since she was really hot. He didn`t tell much, but Jeremy got the impression that they had spent quite some time together. 

The road trip was turning out to be more pleasant than he had anticipated. They stopped at a diner to have lunch and Jeremy turned his phone back on, not really surprised about the 12 messages Elena had left on his mailbox. He listened to her yell, growl and sob, with Stefan`s soothing voice in the background. Finally the younger Salvatore had managed to calm her down. The last message consisted of an apology and Stefan telling him to be careful. 

Damon called his brother and they talked for a few minutes. Jeremy noticed the frown on Damon´s face, but didn`t ask. 

They continued on their journey and reached Lafayette a few hours later. Deciding that it was too late for a visit Damon stopped at a motel and got them a room. 

"Why did you get a double room?" Jeremy asked, putting his bag down on one of the beds. "I promised my brother I would look after you. That`s easier when you`re close by." the vampire informed him, before adopting a fake hurt look. 

"Why? Don`t you like sharing a room with me? I thought we were doing some male bonding on this trip." Jeremy smiled despite himself. "I don`t even want to know what you consider male bonding."

"Fine, be a spoilsport. I´ll get dinner. Stay here. And I mean that. Don`t leave the room." he warned. The teen held up his hands in defeat. He flopped down on the bed and watched the vampire leave, surprised that Alaric didn`t follow him. 

The ghost had accompanied them for most of the day, silently watching or making little comments. Although he had disappeared for a few hours, without telling Jeremy where he was going. "Where were you earlier?" the teen asked now, deciding to take advantage of Damon`s absence. 

"Checking up on the others." Alaric said as he sat down across from him. "There`s something wrong, isn`t it? I could see it in Damon`s face when he talked to Stefan." Ric nodded. "There`s a new hunter in town. He crashed the memorial and tried to kill Tyler." he informed the teen. "What? Is he okay?" 

"Yes, Tyler`s fine. Don`t worry. They got it under control. Tyler is the only vampire, well part vampire he has identified so far. Klaus sent a few of his hybrids over to play bodyguard and I think Caroline will rip that hunter`s heart out before he even comes within 10 feet of Tyler again. Also Stefan has teamed up with Klaus against the hunter. I guess he won`t be problem much longer." Jeremy breathed a sigh of relief. 

"I`m glad you and Damon are getting along." Alaric changed the topic. "Well, I guess he´s really not such a bad guy." the teen mumbled, earning a smile from his guardian. Their talk was interrupted by the return of the vampire in question. 

"Who were you talking to?" Damon asked, putting a pizza carton in front of Jeremy. The teen silently cursed that damn vampire hearing and looked at Alaric. "Tell him you called Matt." the former teacher instructed. "Matt called. He told me about the hunter and what happened at the memorial." Jeremy lied, frowning at Alaric and wondering why he didn`t want Damon to know that he was there.

"Did he? Well, don`t worry. Stefan`s got it covered. That guy is as good as dead." Jeremy just nodded, dropping the subject. But he decided to ask Alaric about the secrecy when he got the chance. Unfortunately Damon didn`t leave again. 

Instead he decided to spend the evening watching TV. Which really wasn´t all that bad. They found a trashy vampire movie that made both of them laugh and Damon even let him have a sip of his scotch. Of course Alaric wasn`t too pleased about that, but since he didn`t want Damon to know that he was there, Jeremy decided to just ignore him. 

Not long after the movie had ended they settled down to sleep. Jeremy drifted off almost instantly. Damon however was just lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. Alaric stood next to the bed and looked down on him, fascinated by the emotions playing over his face. The vampire was usually very guarded, dropping his indifferent mask only when he thought no-one was watching. He looked troubled, Ric mused. 

"Why are you seeking out that witch?" the former teacher murmured. He had no idea what Damon was planning and wondered if it had been such a good idea to let Jeremy come with him. But Damon had promised to look after the teen and Alaric was sure that he would keep that promise. He would protect Jeremy. And the two of them seemed to be getting along quite well. Better than he had expected. 

Damon finally heaved a sigh and turned on his side, closing his eyes. Smiling fondly Alaric continued to watch as he slowly drifted off to sleep, his face relaxing. He looked younger when he slept, almost innocent. Free of the troubles that plagued him during the waking hours. Ric stood there for a few more minutes, relishing the chance to just look at the vampire. Something he had never dared to do when he was still alive, for fear of Damon catching him staring. 

His fingers itched to bury themselves in that raven hair. He had always wondered if it would feel as soft to the touch as it looked. He`d never find out now. He couldn`t touch, but at least he could watch. And he knew he would watch over Damon for all of eternity. With a last, sad smile the ghost vanished.


	4. A surprising revelation

Jeremy awoke to the sounds of Damon talking on the cell phone. Sleepily he sat up, surprised to find breakfast waiting on his bedside table. He watched the vampire while he ate, trying to understand what was going on, but obviously the person on the other end of the line did most of the talking. 

Damon only mumbled things like "Okay." or "Are you sure?" every now and then. "Good. No, everything`s fine here. I made sure little Gilbert ate and went to bed early. Don`t know if he brushed his teeth, though." the vampire joked, winking at him. Jeremy just shook his head, a smile playing about his lips. "I guess we`ll be back in two days. Three at the most. I`ll tell you then." Damon promised, before hanging up. 

"Stefan says they`ve taken the hunter out and not to worry. Elena`s says hi and she misses you." he told the teen, rolling his eyes. Jeremy thanked him and finished his coffee, before getting out of bed. "So, we head back today?" he asked, looking at the vampire questioningly. He had expected them to stay in Indiana for a few days. "Today or tomorrow. Depends." 

"On what?" The vampire gave him an exasperated look. "How long it will take for you to get dressed, so we finally can get going, for a start." he snarked. "Okay okay. Give me ten minutes to shower." the teen said, while he grabbed his bag and went into the bathroom. 

About fifteen minutes later they left the motel and got into the car, with Alaric in the backseat again. Damon drove them to a deserted street, lined with trees and old buildings and finally parked in front of a large old villa. Ivy covered the walls and part of the sign above a sturdy wooden door, that had the words 'McGrath`s books, rings and magical things' written on it. 

They got out of the car and walked up a set of stairs. The door opened with a squeaking sound that reminded Jeremy of old horror movies. They entered a large, brightly lit shop. The teen marveled at the rows of shelves, filled to the brink with books, candles, boxes, flasks and other things he couldn`t name. At the back of the room was an old desk, where a woman sat. 

She looked to be about thirty. Her wavy black hair cascaded over her shoulders almost down to her waist and her dark eyes contrasted starkly with her pale skin. She smiled as they neared her and a shudder ran down Jeremy`s spine. Although she was really beautiful, there was something sinister about that smile. 

Damon either didn`t notice or he just didn`t care, for he greeted her with a grin. "Celia, honey. Looking stunning as ever." 

"Damon Salvatore. To what do I owe the dubious pleasure of your visit?" she answered, her smile widening. Jeremy could only watch the exchange with wide eyes. This couldn`t really be the Celia Damon had told him about. He said she was at least 60, while this woman didn`t look a day older than 32. "She`s using magic to stay young." Alaric told him, having obviously guessed his thought. 

"Well, I thought I`d drop by and see how you`re doing." Damon told the witch, who just a raised an eyebrow at his obvious lie. "Is that so? And who is that? Your new toy-boy?" she asked, looking Jeremy up and down. It took a moment for the implication to sink in, but when it did, the teen shook his head vehemently. "What? No!" Damon grinned. 

"He`s ... family. In a way." he explained, once again referring to their talk. Jeremy stifled a groan, inwardly cursing himself for his speech. He shouldn`t have bothered. He should`ve known the vampire would only use it mock him. 

"Speaking of family.. where`s lovely Colin?" Damon continued. Celia left her place at the desk and walked closer to them. Jeremy couldn`t help but stare. Her short burgundy dress highlighted her long pale legs perfectly and he had to agree with Damon on one thing. She was really hot. "He`s just running an errand. But he should be back right about... now." 

True to her word the door creaked again and a man entered the shop. He looked a little older than Celia, but he had the same black hair and pale skin. Only his eyes were green and he looked less... sinister. He stopped short when he noticed Damon, who grinned at him. "Colin, long time no see. You look good." The man blushed and Jeremy again wondered about the toy-boy comment. He looked over at Alaric and was surprised to find him glaring at the warlock. 

"What are you doing here?" Colin finally spoke up. "I was just asking him the same thing." his sister said, looking at Damon pointedly. "You didn`t come here without a reason. So spit it out." she demanded. Damon didn`t falter. "Always straight to the point. That`s what I love about you." When she just continued to stare at him, he conceded: "Well you see, thanks to recent events I remembered the stories you used to tell me about your grandmother. And since witches pass on their knowledge through the generations, I thought it might be a good idea to cash in that favor now." 

Celia narrowed her eyes at him, but it was Colin who gasped: "You want us to bring back the dead." causing Jeremy to stare at Damon in shock. "Not all of them. I`m happy with just one." the vampire answered nonchalantly. "Who?" Celia asked, sounding way too calm. "A friend of mine."

"Vampire?" Damon nodded and Jeremy looked at Alaric, wondering if the vampire was talking about him. The former teacher was watching the scene with a shocked look on his face, possibly wondering the same thing. 

"You can`t ask this of us. It`s against nature." Colin seemed appalled by the whole idea. Damon stared at him coldly. "Like it`s against nature to drink a vampire`s blood, so you won`t die of a punctured lung, after your boyfriend beat you to a bloody pulp?" He turned his gaze on Celia. "Or like it`s against nature to have a vampire compel you out of jail, after you killed said boyfriend?" 

She met his stare evenly, while Colin looked down and bit his lip. "And I could list quite a few more things, as you well know. You owe me. Both of you." Damon reminded the twins. 

"What you want is not that easy. It requires a special kind of magic." Celia informed him. "Black magic!" Colin interrupted. Damon didn`t seem bothered by that fact. Neither did the female twin. "It`s not black magic. Maybe a little grey." Celia clarified. 

"It´s called expression. But before we discuss this further we should sit down. Colin, lock the door." The warlock looked troubled, but complied anyway. Celia led them to a small couch and sat down next to Damon. Jeremy grabbed a nearby chair, while Colin remained standing. 

"There`s a magical veil, separating our world from the ghost world. Only supernatural beings are transferred to that ghost world, though. So you can`t bring back a dead human. Also it is nearly impossible to rip down that veil. You would need a so called expression triangle and a very strong witch, who also has to be a descendant of Kezia, the witch who created the veil." Celia explained. 

"And your family is descendent from Kezia?" Damon guessed. The witch shook her head and simply said: "No, we`re not.", causing Damon to frown. "But you told me your grandmother brought back her mother from the dead." 

"She did." Celia confirmed. "There`s a loophole. Ripping down the veil is nearly impossible and it would also bring back every dead supernatural being. Nobody wants that. We only want to bring back one particular person. So we only need a little tear in the veil. That can be created with a single expression hotspot." the witch explained. Damon nodded. "Great. Then find one." 

"I can`t just find one. You have to create one." The vampire shrugged. "Okay, then tell me what to do." This time it was Colin who answered. "You have to kill twelve people." 

"Vampires would be best in this case." added Celia. "You want him to carry out a mass murder?" Jeremy asked, speaking up for the first time. "It`s necessary." the witch murmured coolly. 

"Anything else?" Damon asked, like they weren`t just talking about killing a dozen vampires. "This can only work if you have strong feelings for the one you want to bring back. Your love is the anchor that draws her back to our world. If it`s not strong enough, she won`t be able to cross the line." 

"He. And don`t worry about my feelings." the vampire answered. Jeremy stared at him in shock, but Damon didn`t seem to notice. Celia smiled evilly. "Fine. I`ll find you a dozen vampires then." She stood up and left through a hidden back door, followed by her brother. 

"You really want to go through with that?" Jeremy asked, once they were alone. "Of course. That`s the reason we`re here." the vampire reminded him, while he got up. "Who?" Damon just raised an eyebrow and pretended he didn`t know what Jeremy was asking. 

"Who do you want to bring back?" the teen clarified. "I thought that would be obvious." 

"Alaric?" Jeremy asked, eliciting a smile from the vampire. "See, why ask a question you already know the answer to." The teen didn`t answer. His eyes were drawn to Alaric, who looked a mixture of shocked, happy, hopeful and scared. "So, are you going to help me or what?" Damon asked, getting Jeremy`s attention again. 

"Help you kill twelve vampires you mean?" The vampire simply nodded. "No, I won`t help you." Jeremy stated, getting up as well and casting an apologetic look at Alaric. He would love to get his guardian back, but he just couldn`t do this. He couldn`t kill innocent people, to help a witch work her black magic. The price was too high. Damon`s eyes narrowed, but otherwise he remained calm. 

"Fine, don`t help me then. But don`t try to stop me either." he warned and turned away, ignoring Jeremy. The teen watched him as he started pacing. Minutes ticked by. When the heavy silence got too uncomfortable, Jeremy decided to speak up again. 

"So... you and Ric?" He looked from his dead guardian to the vampire just in time to see the pained look that flitted over his features. It was gone in a second, Damon`s face seemed blank again, but he was sure he`d seen it. "We`re friends." he said in a neutral tone. Jeremy wasn`t sure if it was a good idea to keep questioning him, but decided to push his luck this time. 

"A little more than friends, I think." Damon turned away and shrugged, but to his surprise he answered. "On my part. Ric doesn`t swing that way. I`m his drinking buddy, hunting buddy, whatever..." He shrugged again. "I`ll take what I can get." Jeremy looked at Alaric, at the way he was watching Damon, a sad smile on his lips and wondered why he had never seen it. Why he had never realized it. 

He thought about telling Damon that maybe his feelings weren`t as one-sided as he thought, but decided against it. If the vampire`s crazy plan really worked out, Ric could tell him in person. But there was something else he wondered about. 

"What about Elena?" he asked. Damon shrugged. "What about her?" 

"I thought you were in love with her." the teen clarified, annoyed at Damon´s tendency to talk around things. "Maybe I was. Maybe I was only fooling myself. Who knows." was the vampire`s cryptic answer. "Doesn`t matter anyway. She chose Stefan, remember?" For a second Jeremy was tempted to ask if Alaric was only a substitute. But he had seen the pain in Damon`s eyes. He had seen how much the vampire was hurting because of Ric`s death. 

His musings were interrupted by the return of Celia. She gave Damon an address. "It`s a night club, not far from here. You should find twelve vampires there. They usually hide there during the day. Make sure to kill them all. The sacrifice requires exactly twelve lives." she instructed. Damon nodded and left the shop. 

Jeremy followed him outside and watched as he opened the trunk, retrieving an arsenal of weapons. Armed with a bunch of stakes and vervain darts he left, without looking back. Jeremy watched him go nervously. He looked over at Alaric, who hadn`t moved and was staring off into space. 

"You`re not going with him?" the teen asked, clearly surprised. "I`m scared he might not survive this. I can`t watch, unable to help him." the ghost whispered. "You love him." It wasn`t a question, more a statement, but Ric nodded anyway. After a few seconds he sought out Jeremy`s eyes. "Does it bother you?" 

The teen hesitated, but finally shook his head. "No, not really. I`m actually wondering why I never noticed. Looking back now, it was quite obvious. He behaved ... different around you. You changed him. Made him a better person, you know? I always thought it was Elena, but really it was you." he murmured, noticing the soft smile on his guardian´s face. 

It vanished quickly though. Ric was scared. Scared for Damon. And if Jeremy was honest with himself, he was too. Looking back at the shop an idea struck him. He couldn`t believe he hadn`t thought of this earlier. Startling Alaric he headed back inside to talk to Celia.


	5. A neccessary evil

Damon groaned in pain as he was thrown across the room and knocked into a table, which broke under his weight. This was not going like he`d planned. That bitch Celia should have warned him, that this wasn`t a bunch of weak, young vampires he was dealing with. They were a lot stronger than he had anticipated. 

He`d managed to kill three of them with relative ease, thanks to the element of surprise. But once they realized what was going on and that he had come with the sole intention of killing them all, they had started fighting back in earnest. He had killed two more until they started overpowering him. He may be strong and determined, but he was highly outnumbered. 

Before he could get up from the floor the screaming redhead came flying at him again. This time he expected her attack however and reacting quickly he punched his hand through her torso, ripping out her heart. Six down, another six to go. And already his strength was waning. 

His arm bled from where the redhead had bitten him, a little piece of wood was painfully embedded in his left thigh and he`d cracked a rib when he landed on the table. He removed the wood, hissing at the pain. But he didn`t have long to dwell on it. They were closing in on him now. Damon scrambled backwards and managed to hit one with a vervain dart, taking him out for a while at least. The second dart missed and then they were on him. 

Two of them grabbed his arms, effectively immobilizing him. He saw the blonde girl pick up a stake and started to thrash around, but to no avail. They held him tight. He stopped struggling and desperately looked for a way out. He found none. Cursing himself for his stupidity he tried to kick the blonde, but she sidestepped his weak attempt easily and laughed in his face. Told him she would draw it out, make him suffer.

Why the hell did he have to rush into this? He should`ve thought it through first, planned his attack. How often had Ric admonished him for rushing into danger head first when they were hunting together? He should`ve listened, damn it. 

Not willing to give up yet he was just about to start struggling again, when the blonde suddenly gasped in surprise and sunk to the floor, a stake protruding from her chest. Damon looked up just in time to see Jeremy reloading the crossbow. And he had never been so happy to see the little Gilbert. 

The next stake found its target, hitting the bald guy right through the heart and Damon wondered absently if Alaric had taught the boy how to shoot. The vampire to his right let go of his arm to join the last remaining female in her attack on Jeremy, giving Damon the chance to free himself from the black guy`s grip. He broke his neck, knocking him out for now and then rushed over to help Jeremy fend off the other two. 

He attacked the guy and they rolled around on the floor, grappling for the stake, until the other vampire got a hold of it and tried to drive it through Damon`s heart. He barely avoided the thrust and the stake buried itself in his stomach instead. 

Groaning in pain he could only watch as the guy grabbed another stake and lunged at Jeremy. But the boy was clever, he had to give him that. He sidestepped the attack and pushed the girl in front of himself, causing the vampire to stab her instead. Lucky for them she turned out to be the vampire`s girlfriend and he was so shocked that he`d stabbed her (even if he hadn`t hit the heart) that he was distracted for a moment. 

That moment was all it took for Jeremy to pick up the crossbow and hit the guy through the heart. The girl screeched and lunged herself at the teen, but he used her own momentum and gave her a shove that sent her across the room. Damon reacted quickly and pushed one of the broken tables into her way, effectively impaling her on one of the pieces. 

With another pained groan he sank back down and tried to pull the stake out of his stomach. But it wouldn`t budge. Lifting his head he spied Jeremy, who was leaning against the wall, breathing heavily. "Hey, I could use a hand. If you`re not too busy." the vampire ground out. 

Jeremy rolled his eyes, but walked over and knelt down next to Damon. He gripped the stake and pulled it out, ignoring the vampire`s pained hiss. Damon sat up, panting because of the pain. He was going to need some blood to heal properly. And he wasn`t the only one who needed patching up. 

Looking at Jeremy up close he noticed the bite mark on his neck, the split lip and the deep scratches all over his left arm. But first they had to take care of the two remaining vampires. "Two aren`t dead, yet." he told the teen, while he slowly got to his feet. 

He looked around the room, trying to find them and finally spotted the black guy with the broken neck a short distance away, half buried under a couple of chairs. He walked over, picking up the broken leg of a chair on the way and drove it through the guy`s heart. Eleven down, one to go. 

He had no idea where the last one had fallen and the carnage of the room made it hard to spot him. The whole furniture was broken to pieces and strewn all over the hall. Jeremy wasn`t helping at all. The teen was too busy checking his wounds. "Help me find the last one. We`ll take care of that later." Damon ordered. Jeremy gave him a dark look, but complied. 

They worked their way through the hall, pushing aside broken furniture and dead bodies, until Jeremy suddenly gave a startled yelp as something grabbed his ankle. That 'something' turned out to be the last vampire, who had recovered from the vervaine and used his hold on the teen to bring him down onto the floor. 

Jeremy landed hard on his back and had no time to react as the vampire attacked him. Damon sped over and pulled him away just in time so save the teen from another bite. He managed to knock the guy into the wall, but the fight and blood loss had weakened him and it took all of his strength to hold him there. "Jeremy!" The guy fought and struggled, all the while spitting curses at Damon, who had a hard time holding him back. 

He breathed a sigh of relief, when Jeremy finally appeared beside him, stake in hand. The guy intensified his struggles, but it was too late. Jeremy pushed the stake through his heart, allowing Damon to finally let go. 

Panting they both just stood there for a moment and tried to recover from the fight. "Looks painful." Damon commented, motioning to the bloody mess on the teen`s arm. "No shit." was the only reply. The vampire rolled his eyes and bit his own wrist, holding it out to Jeremy who just stared at him. "Drink! You`re sister is going to kill me if I bring you back all shredded up." 

The teen hesitated for another second, but those scratches hurt like hell. Even more than the bite on his neck. Giving up he accepted the offer and allowed Damon to feed him his blood. He grimaced at the taste, but the pain lessened almost instantly and within minutes his injuries were healed. "Thanks." he mumbled awkwardly. Not knowing what else to say he looked around the room and shuddered at the dead bodies. 

"We`re a good team, don´t you think?" Damon quipped. Jeremy raised an eyebrow. "Is that your way of thanking me for saving your ass?" 

"You? Saving my ass?" the vampire gave him a questioning look. "Can`t remember that, sorry." Jeremy just crossed his arms and looked at him. Damon mimicked the action and they tried to stare each other down for a few seconds, until Damon shrugged and conceded: "Okay, maybe I had a little trouble there. Your help made it easier, but  I would have managed without you. Spared me some time though." 

The teen shook his head, accepting that this was as much thanks as he would get. "Let`s head back to the store." he decided, surprised when Damon complied without protest. The vampire moved slowly and the teen realized for the first time that the fight had taken a lot out of him as well. And giving Jeremy his blood must have weakened him further. 

"Are you okay?" he asked, genuinely concerned. Damon flashed him a grin. "Don`t worry about me. I`ll be fine after a little snack." Of course the meaning of his words wasn`t lost on Jeremy, who decided not to comment on it. 

Not long after they had left the club a young guy walked up to them, completely shocked by the blood on both their clothing and asked if they needed help. Jeremy looked the other way while Damon compelled the guy to follow him into an alley. 

"He`ll survive." he told the teen after he had returned. Jeremy believed him. They walked back to the bookstore in silence. 

Shortly before they reached it Damon spoke up again. "What made you change your mind?" The teen looked at him, but Damon was staring straight ahead. "I asked Celia if it is possible to bring back more than one person, once there is a tear in the veil. She said it is. So I made a deal with her as well." 

"Anna?" Damon asked, remembering their talk on the drive. "Yes. I only hope she won`t hate me for it." Jeremy murmured, unsure if he was doing the right thing. Maybe she had found peace. Maybe she had even managed to reunite with her mother and he was ripping them apart again, selfish boy that he was. But he missed her so much. 

"I don`t think she`ll hate you. Ric on the other hand will definitely hate me." Damon stated, startling him out of his thoughts. "He won`t hate you. Why should he?" 

"Are you kidding me? I just killed twelve people and, even worse, made you help me, just to bring him back from the dead. He would have stopped me if he could. You know how he is, with his morals and all that shit." 

They rounded the corner and Jeremy spotted Alaric on the stairs in front of the bookstore. There was no mistaking the relief on his face. "And yet you didn`t hesitate." Jeremy pointed out. Damon shrugged. "I´d rather have him alive and hating me, than dead and liking me." he explained and the teen felt torn on what to say. Alaric didn`t want Damon to know that he`d been there the whole time, but Jeremy was sure he wouldn`t want Damon to worry unnecessarily either. 

„I don`t think he`ll hate you. He could have told me to stop you if he wanted." he said finally, hoping Damon wouldn`t question him on this. Lucky for him Celia chose that moment to step outside and the vampire was too busy glaring at her. 

"You`re back already. Did everything go as planned?" The witch asked and Damon wanted to throttle her. Taking a deep breath to keep his temper in check - after all he still needed her - he nodded. "Yes, no problem." he lied, as he brushed past her and stepped into the store. Colin stared wide-eyed at his bloody appearance, but didn`t dare to say anything. He`d always been the smarter of the twins. 

"So, we killed twelve vampires. What happens now?" Damon asked once they had all gathered at the back of the store again. "We wait until the sun sets. You`re lucky. We have a full moon tonight. I can use that energy to create a tear in the veil. Then I will use you as an anchor to pull those you love back into our world." the witch explained. Damon nodded. 

"Okay. Anything else you need?" Celia smiled in that sinister way that made Jeremy shudder, but thankfully shook her head. "No, I´ve got everything. Meet me at the club after sunset." she instructed. 

"At the club?" Jeremy asked, feeling uneasy about going back there. "Of course. That is the expression hotspot." Of course it was. He should have known. The teen just hoped she knew what she was doing and would only bring Alaric and Anna back. He didn`t want to face the ghosts of those vampires he and Damon had killed earlier. But he kept that thought to himself and just nodded.


	6. The ritual

Jeremy and Damon went to another motel to shower and change clothes. The vampire decided they would also spend the night there and head back tomorrow. Jeremy was fine with that. He wondered what the others would say if they really returned with Ric and Anna in tow. And how they would explain Ric`s resurrection. Still he didn`t dare to make plans, too afraid that it wouldn`t work out. That he would only get his hopes up and be all the more devastated when their plan failed. 

Damon was unusually quiet as well, seemingly lost in thought. They went to a nearby diner to eat, before returning to the motel again, where they watched some mindless TV to kill time. Jeremy`s eyes flickered to the window every few minutes. He couldn`t wait for it to get dark, to finally start the ritual and end this uncertainty. And yet at the same time he was afraid of what would happen once the sun set. 

He also wondered about Alaric`s absence. The ghost had accompanied them to the motel, but disappeared while Jeremy was in the shower and he had yet to return. The teen figured he was checking up on the others again and tried to shrug it off. Maybe he also needed some time to himself. Maybe he was just as scared about what would or wouldn`t happen tonight. 

At least he knew that Ric didn`t object against the plan. He had tried to contact Anna, but as always she hadn`t reacted, making him all the more nervous. But it was too late to turn back now. He had made his decision and he would stick to it, no matter what. 

*** 

When the sun finally began its descent Damon started pacing. He seemed just as nervous as Jeremy. In the end they shared a look and, coming to an unspoken agreement, left the motel early. They reached the night club just as the sun was setting. 

Jeremy stared at the dark building with an uneasy feeling. The hairs at the back of his neck stood on end. He blamed it on today`s events. Sure, he had killed vampires or hybrids before, but it had never been like this. Usually he had done it to protect himself or Elena. And he`d never experienced a fight like that before. He also had no wish to repeat the experience in the near future. He looked at Damon, who was pacing again, only to realize that he wasn`t the only one watching the vampire. 

Alaric had returned. He smiled slightly when he noticed Jeremy`s eyes on himself. "Are you okay?" The teen shrugged and muttered: "Nervous.", which caused Damon to stop pacing and stare at him questioningly. "Ah.. are you as nervous as I am?" Jeremy asked, inwardly cursing himself for speaking up and cursing Ric for the secrecy. 

"Me? Nervous? No way." Damon winked at him. "I`m just edgy because the witch is late." he claimed. Jeremy rolled his eyes and looked over at Ric in time to see him mimic the action. 

They waited a few more minutes in silence, until Celia appeared with her brother in tow. Colin looked apprehensive, which in turn spiked Jeremy`s nervousness. Celia on the other hand was completely calm. She had treated her short dress for a black catsuit, that highlighted the curves of her body and made her look even more pale. She motioned for the men to follow her and went inside without hesitation. 

Jeremy`s heart started beating faster as he entered the building. Once inside he stopped dead in his tracks and looked around in surprise. The hall was almost completely empty, cleared of any broken furniture and dead bodies. Instead there were dozens of candles arranged around the center. 

"I stopped by earlier to clean up. The mess you two left behind would have disturbed my concentration." the witch explained. Jeremy was glad that he wouldn`t have to see that carnage again. It was already burned into his memory. 

Celia looked up and declared: "It`s time." startling the teen out of his musings. She went to the center of the hall and sat down cross legged. "Come over here and sit down across from me." she instructed Damon and Jeremy. The two complied wordlessly, while Colin remained close to the exit. He looked ready to bolt any minute. Celia didn`t even glance in his direction. 

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, lighting the candles with a thought. It got eerily quiet. Damon listened to the slow, rhythmic beating of Celia`s heart and the quickened heartbeat of Jeremy next to him and Colin over by the exit. Despite his earlier words he was nervous as hell. But he wasn`t about to tell anyone. Instead he focused on Celia, trying to appear calm. 

Seconds ticked by. Maybe minutes. He couldn`t tell. Time seemed to slow down. The witch didn`t move a muscle. He had expected her to chant or something like that. Didn`t magic require spells? The candles flickered and there was a low rumble, like thunder far off in the distance. Damon´s vampire hearing picked up on the wind getting stronger. It sounded like there was a storm raging outside the building. 

Suddenly there was a clap of thunder and the electric lights went out. Jeremy jumped and Colin gave a startled yelp. Celia opened her eyes. Her pupils were dilated and the flickering candlelight gave them an eerie glow that made Damon shudder. He had learned over the years not to trifle with witches and Celia was without a doubt one of the most powerful ones he`d ever met. Maybe the most powerful one. Aside from Bonnie, that is. Not that he would ever admit that out loud. 

"Think of the one you want to bring back. Concentrate all your thoughts, all your feelings only on them." Celia instructed, her voice sounded like it was coming from far away. 

Damon closed his eyes and thought of Alaric, of his wry smile and the way he chuckled when they were joking around. Of the way his eyes sparkled when he was talking about something he was passionate about. He thought of them hunting together, drinking together, hanging out together. Of the rare moments they would just sit in the study of the boarding house and talk. 

He marveled over how their relationship had changed. How they had tried to kill each other at first (and he had succeeded), then slowly started working together because they had the same goals, cared about the same people. How they ended up getting drunk at the Grill more than once a week. How they slowly became friends. 

At the same time Jeremy was concentrating on his memories of Anna. He remembered the day they met, how he thought she was strange at first, but quickly started liking her. He thought of them spending time together, before he knew she was a vampire and after he`d found out. He remembered the day he had cut himself to bait her. How it had felt when she drank from him. How afraid she had been of hurting him. 

How overwhelmed he had been when she enrolled at school just to spend the day with him. He thought back to when he had first started seeing ghosts and how happy he had been to have her back in his life. How amazing it had been to hold her, kiss her again. 

When he suddenly heard Anna say his name he thought it was only his imagination. Only a memory. But she sounded so insecure and almost scared that he opened his eyes, gasping at the sight that met him. 

Anna was standing behind Celia, her arms wrapped around herself. She looked around in wonder and a little fear. "Jeremy?" she whispered again. Without thinking he jumped up and crossed the small distance that separated them. Hesitating only a second he reached his hand out to touch her and gasped when he felt her smooth skin under his fingertips. 

"I can feel you." she whispered at the same time Jeremy exclaimed: "It worked." They stared at each other, Jeremy in wonder and Anna questioning. "We found this witch... she.. she brought you back." the teen stammered. Anna`s eyes widened, realization dawning on her. "I`m... alive again?" 

"As alive as a vampire can be." Celia declared. She stood behind the two and watched their exchange with mild amusement. There was something dark about her, more so than before, that sent chills down Jeremy`s spine. But he pushed the feeling aside. She had given him his greatest wish. "Thank you." he whispered sincerely. The witch smiled in that sinister way. "You`re welcome." She turned away and Jeremy decided to ignore her and concentrate on Anna instead. 

"Is that okay? I mean, what I did?" he asked nervously. Anna blinked and he could see her eyes shimmering with tears. "I just.. I missed you. So much." he tried to explain, afraid that she really would hate him now. He was surprised when she threw herself into his arms. "You bring me back to life and really ask if it`s okay? Of course it`s okay, you idiot." she exclaimed and Jeremy sighed in relief. 

He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her even closer and just held her for what felt like hours, but couldn`t have been more than a few minutes. The joy he felt was overwhelming. Finally pulling back a little he remembered that Anna wasn`t the only one who had come back and he looked around. 

Damon heard Anna whisper Jeremy`s name. He heard the boy get up and knew that it had worked. But still he didn`t dare to open his eyes. Only when he felt a hand on his shoulder, did he look up to find Alaric smiling down on him. "Hey buddy." For a second Damon was unable to react. He could only stare at his best friend in awe, which Ric found highly amusing. The former teacher held out his hand and when Damon took it he pulled him up and into a hug, which the vampire returned immediately. 

Ric`s closeness was nearly overpowering him and he had to fight to keep his emotions under control. Pulling back he grinned at Ric. "Welcome back among the living. Well, the living dead, anyway." Ric chuckled. "Thanks. Only you would be able to pull off something like this." He shook his head, a wry smile on his lips. 

Damon shrugged. "You didn`t really expect me to babysit the kids all on my own? That`s your job." he reminded his friend, who chuckled again. Typically Damon to find excuses. They would need to talk. But that could wait. 

The former teacher noticed Jeremy looking for him and went over to hug his protégé. "I`m glad to have you back. I mean for real and not just..." the teen shrugged a little awkwardly. "I know what you mean. And it`s good to be back." Alaric replied. 

"It is." Anna agreed, cuddling against Jeremy, who put an arm around her with a happy smile. "I hate to interrupt the little party, but maybe it`s time to head back to the motel." Damon cut in. The other three agreed. 

The dark haired vampire looked at Celia, noting the changes in her as well. She had always been drawn to the darker side of magic, while Colin feared it. As long as he had known the twins that was something they always argued about. Usually Celia won. She was the stronger of the two. 

He didn`t believe for a second that the witch had done all this just to pay him back. She got something out of it as well. Power, he supposed and had to suppress a shudder. He was lucky to be on her good side and since he wanted it to stay that way he wouldn`t question her motives. He got what he wanted after all. 

"I guess we`re even." he told her. "We are. But if you ever need anything..." Damon accepted the offer with a smile. "Thanks. Same goes for you." he answered. And he meant it. Evil bitch or not, she was a valuable ally. 

They said their goodbyes and left, passing Colin on their way out, who still stood close to the exit and was frowning at his sister. Damon felt a little bad for him, but knew he would get over it. When it came down to it the twins were always there for each other. They just disagreed on certain things. They were a lot like him and Stefan, he realized, but pushed the thought of his brother away for now. He would deal with Stefan and the consequences of his actions when they got back to Mystic Falls.


	7. All I want

About an hour later Jeremy was lying on his motel bed, facing Anna who was lying next to him. He had told her about the spell that brought her back and how he and Damon had killed the twelve vampires. She was a little shocked, but she understood his reasons. And she also told him it was ‘kinda hot’ to know that he could fight like that. 

Jeremy breathed a sigh of relief. Her acceptance meant the world to him. "I was afraid you might hate me for bringing you back." he admitted. "Why would you think that?" "Well you... you were gone. I haven`t seen you since that night you told me to move on. I thought maybe you had found peace and didn`t want to come back." He didn`t dare to bring up her mother, knowing how much Pearl`s death must still hurt her. Anna was quiet for a while. 

"You know that night when Bonnie`s spell sent us all back to the other side?" she asked finally. Jeremy nodded and motioned for her to continue. "I found mama, just before it happened. We hugged and I told her how much I love her." she smiled sadly. "She moved on. Found peace. But I just... couldn`t. I know I told you to move on, but I couldn`t leave you. So I stayed and sometimes watched you. But I never let you see me. I told myself I would only make sure you were okay and then I would leave. I just.. wasn`t strong enough, yet." 

She shrugged and Jeremy could see her blushing a little. "I guess it´s a good thing I couldn`t let you go, either." he murmured, linking their hands together and leaning down for a kiss. After they parted Anna cuddled closer to him and sighed contentedly, causing Jeremy to smile. For the first time in a long while he felt truly happy again. 

***

Damon shook his head at the two lovebirds on the bed. He should have gotten them separate rooms. Those two were so sickeningly sweet that he felt his teeth rot just from looking at them. Not feeling overly voyeuristic today he decided to join Alaric, who was outside 'getting some fresh air', as he`d called it. 

Stepping outside he spotted his friend a few feet away. Ric was sitting on a bench, staring up at the stars. Damon joined him. "Everything okay? Are the cravings kicking in? I can take you out to hunt if you`d like." he offered. The former teacher shook his head. 

"I`m fine. I might take you up on that offer tomorrow, though." Alaric shuddered at the thought. He hadn`t had much time to come to terms with the fact that he was a vampire now and would take some time getting used to it. Damon sensed his unease. "Hey, you`ll get used to it." 

"You`re going to help me with that?" Ric asked, looking at the other vampire for the first time. "Of course. We`re going to be hunting buddies again." Damon grinned. Ric shook his head. "I trust you to make sure I don`t end up like Stefan." the former teacher told his friend. 

Damon made a face. "I won`t let you become a bunny eater, don`t worry. It`s bad enough that he`s getting Elena to adopt his stupid diet." He shook himself, disgusted by the mere thought. "I don`t really feel like killing rabbits either, but I actually meant the ripper part." Ric pointed out. 

"Oh that. Don`t worry. If vampire barbie can control herself you will manage as well." Damon stated confidently, loving Ric`s wry chuckle at his words. God how he missed that. He was so glad to have Alaric back. But he had yet to tell him how he managed that. He had thought about not telling him at all, but Jeremy might let something slip and then Ric would be even more pissed at him. So maybe it was better to just get it over with. 

"There`s something I`ve got to tell you. About the spell that brought you back. And I think you`re not going to like it." he started. Not daring to look at his friend he kept staring straight ahead. "You mean the fact that you and Jeremy killed twelve vampires?" Ric asked, causing Damon to whip his head around and stare at him in shock. 

"You know? Did Jeremy tell you?" He would kill little Gilbert. It wasn`t his place to tell Ric. "No, he didn`t." The former teacher`s voice cut through his violent thoughts. Damon could tell that he wasn`t lying. "But then.. how?" he asked completely puzzled. 

Now it was Alaric`s turn to avert his eyes. And his turn to confess. He had no idea what to say, where to start. How Damon would take the truth. He didn`t want to have this conversation, but he also didn`t want to lie. He`d spent so much time dancing around the truth, too afraid to admit his true feelings for the vampire, even to himself, until it was too late. Now that he had been given a second chance he wouldn`t make the same mistake again. 

"After I... died, I spent some of my time watching over the kids. Making sure they were all okay. Or as okay as they could be at least. But most of the time I was.. following you." he admitted. He could practically feel Damon`s eyes on him, but didn`t dare to meet his gaze. "Thanks for saving my seat, by the way." he murmured, when Damon interrupted him. 

"What do you mean, you were following me? When? How long?" Ric shrugged. "As I said, most of the time since I died. I was there when you came to the graveyard to talk. And... I`ve been with you and Jeremy for most of your journey." 

Finally he looked at his friend. "Don`t be mad at Jeremy. I asked him not to tell you." Damon´s eyes darkened. "You spied on me!" he hissed. "I watched over you." Ric corrected, but the other vampire would hear none of it. "You spied on me!" he accused again, his face twisting in anger. But Ric knew him well enough to see something else. Uncertainty, maybe even a little fear. And betrayal. 

"Why did you bring me back?" the former teacher asked. Damon jumped up and stared at him. "Why do you ask? I thought you knew everything already." he growled. "I want you to tell me face to face." It wasn`t that he didn`t believe the things he had heard Damon say, but he still wanted the other vampire to tell him directly. 

"Fuck you!" Damon spat, turning away. But Ric had seen the pain in his eyes. He knew better than anyone else that the elder Salvatore was afraid of showing his feelings. It was a fear borne from decades of rejection. His father had always favored Stefan. Katherine had chosen Stefan over him, as had Elena. It was always Stefan. Never him. Alaric cursed himself for his own stupidity. He understood how Damon ticked. He should have known how he would react. 

"Damon..." he started, but the dark haired vampire ignored him and started marching back toward the motel room. He didn`t get very far. Alaric used his vampire speed to catch up to him. Talking had gotten them nowhere so maybe it was time to take action. 

Damon gasped when he found himself pressed with his back to the wall, but he had no time to react as Alaric´s lips claimed his in a rough kiss that left both men breathless. "I`m sorry for spying. And I`m sorry for baiting you. I should have known how you would react." the former teacher whispered. "The truth is... that it took death to finally make me realize that I`ve fallen for a crazy, homicidal, sarcastic vampire." he admitted. 

Damon´s eyes widened as the implication of his words sunk in. "That means you...?" Ric smiled. "No way. I`m not going to say it first." Damon stared at him for a few seconds. Then a cocky grin spread over his lips and he quickly switched their positions, this time pressing Ric against the wall. 

"Oh, but you will, sweetheart." he promised, before leaning in for another kiss. Ric didn`t complain. Instead he combed his hand through Damon´s dark hair, marveling at the fact that it really felt as soft to the touch as it looked. 

"What do you say, we visit the clerk and compel him to give us another room?" the dark haired vampire suggested. Ric chuckled. "Nice idea, but you promised Elena to look after Jeremy, remember?" he reminded, grinning when Damon actually pouted. "You`re no fun." 

Ric smiled softly. "Come on, Damon. One more day won`t kill us. We`ve got tomorrow. And all eternity." Damon decided he liked the sound of that. But he wasn`t about to let Ric know. "You mean if I decide to keep you that long." 

"Of course you`ll keep me." the former teacher stated confidently, tugging him closer and shutting him up effectively by kissing him again. Damon smiled into the kiss and decided to let it go. For now.


End file.
